Moving Insurance in California: Released Value vs Full Value (What It Actually Costs)

What is the difference between released value and full value moving insurance in California? Released value means the mover is liable for 60 cents per pound per item, so a 200-pound sofa is worth $120 on a claim no matter what it cost. Full value means the mover must repair, replace, or pay the replacement cost of anything lost or damaged, up to the total value you declare, and it costs up to $1.82 per $100 of that value. California adds a third option most people never notice: unless you write a different number on the contract, your coverage defaults to actual cash value up to $20,000.

None of this is technically insurance. It is the mover’s own liability, set by a state tariff called Maximum Rate Tariff 4, and every licensed household mover in California works from the same numbers. The choice is yours, it has to be made in writing before the truck is loaded, and the difference between the options on a typical San Diego move is a few hundred dollars. Here is how to decide.

What are the three levels of coverage on a California move?

Every Agreement for Moving Services in California carries a valuation declaration. What you write in that box, and what you sign, decides which of these three levels applies to your shipment.

Level	What you get if something is lost or broken	Maximum charge (per $100 declared)	How you choose it
Released value	$0.60 per pound per article, regardless of what the item cost	Nothing; it is built into the hourly rate	Write a low figure in the declaration box and sign
Actual cash value	Fair market value with depreciation, up to the amount you declared	$0.95	The default. If you leave the box blank, you get this at $20,000
Full value	Repair, replacement, or full replacement cost, up to the amount you declared	$1.82 (or $0.57 with a $250 deductible, $0.32 with a $500 deductible)	Order it in writing on the Agreement

The rates in the table are ceilings. A mover may charge less than the tariff maximum, but it may not charge more, and the mover must print its valuation rates on the Agreement when it is issued. If the rates are missing from your paperwork, the tariff says the charge defaults to zero.

Why does California default to $20,000 of actual cash value?

Because the state decided that 60 cents a pound was too thin a safety net to hand people by default. The notice printed on every California moving contract says coverage is limited to the actual cash value of losses up to $20,000 unless the shipper inserts a different figure in their own handwriting. So doing nothing does not leave you with the minimum. It leaves you with depreciated value on a $20,000 shipment, and the mover may charge for it at up to $0.95 per $100, which works out to a maximum of $190.

This is where California differs from the rest of the country. On an interstate move, federal rules make full value protection the default and require you to opt down to released value in writing. Within California, the default sits in the middle, and you opt up or down from there. Both directions require your handwriting on the form, which is the tariff’s way of making sure nobody chooses by accident.

How much does each option cost on a real San Diego move?

Take a two-bedroom apartment moving from Pacific Beach to La Jolla: about 4,000 pounds of belongings, and say the whole shipment is worth $20,000 at replacement cost. Here is what each level costs and what it pays on a 50-pound television that cost $900 and a 200-pound sofa that cost $2,400.

Option	Maximum charge	Broken $900 TV (50 lb)	Damaged $2,400 sofa (200 lb)
Released value, $0.60/lb	$0	$30	$120
Actual cash value, $20,000 declared	$190	Depreciated value, perhaps $400 to $600	Depreciated value, perhaps $1,200 to $1,600
Full value, $20,000 declared	$364	Repair or replace, up to $900	Repair or replace, up to $2,400
Full value with $250 deductible	$114	$650	$2,150
Full value with $500 deductible	$64	$400	$1,900

Read the bottom two rows twice. Full value with a $500 deductible costs at most $64 on this shipment, a third of the price of the default actual-cash-value coverage, and it still pays $1,900 on the sofa where released value pays $120. For most households the deductible versions are the best buy on the table, because the things that actually break on a local move are usually worth more than $500 and less than the full declared value.

The depreciated figures under actual cash value are estimates, not tariff numbers. That is the point about actual cash value: nobody knows the payout until an adjuster decides what a three-year-old sofa is worth secondhand. Full value removes the argument.

When is released value the right choice?

When the shipment is mostly weight rather than value. A student moving a mattress, a desk, a bookshelf, and boxes of clothes across town has little that 60 cents a pound would not cover reasonably, and writing a low figure in the box is honest. It is also reasonable when you carry a homeowner’s or renter’s policy that covers belongings in transit, though you should call the insurer and confirm that before moving day rather than assume it.

Released value is the wrong choice for anything that is light and expensive. A laptop, a camera, a framed print, a guitar, a set of china. Those items weigh almost nothing, so 60 cents a pound pays almost nothing, which is the same reason our guide to what San Diego movers won’t move tells you to carry jewelry and documents yourself.

When is full value worth paying for?

When you own anything that would hurt to replace. A piano, a solid-wood dining set, a refrigerator or washer, a home office full of electronics, or a sofa you bought this year. Full value is also the option to take when your shipment is worth more than $20,000, because the default stops there and a three-bedroom house in Carlsbad or Poway often holds more. Declare the real replacement value, take the $250 or $500 deductible to keep the charge sensible, and you have moved the risk onto the mover where it belongs.

One rule applies at every level: pairs and sets. If one chair from a set of six is damaged, the mover’s liability covers that chair, not the set. And if you take something apart for the move, the tariff treats all the pieces as one article, so a disassembled bed frame is one item, not five.

Is mover valuation the same as moving insurance?

No, and the difference matters when something goes wrong. Valuation is the mover’s contractual liability to you. Insurance is a policy from a licensed insurer, either your own homeowner’s or renter’s policy or a separate transit policy bought for the move. Movers are not insurance agents and cannot sell you a policy; what they offer is a promise to pay, backed by the cargo insurance the state requires them to carry as a condition of their permit. If a company calls its valuation “insurance” and cannot explain the difference, that is one more reason to check whether the mover is licensed before you sign anything.

For high-value collections, art, or instruments, a separate transit policy can make sense on top of full value. Your insurance agent can quote it against an itemized list, and the mover’s inventory becomes the document both sides work from.

How do you file a damage claim against a California mover?

Note the damage on the inventory at delivery, before the crew leaves, and photograph it. Then file a written claim with the mover within nine months of delivery. The claim needs a description of the damage, an itemized list with the amount claimed for each item, the move date, the origin and destination addresses, and the mover’s order number, and you must have paid the freight bill first. The tariff gives the mover 30 days to acknowledge the claim in writing and 60 days to pay it, decline it, or make a firm settlement offer.

If the mover declines and you disagree, you have two years and one day from the date of the denial to bring a suit, and you can file a complaint with the Bureau of Household Goods and Services, which licenses and disciplines California movers. Keep the Agreement, the inventory, and the paid bill together in the folder you carried in your own car; every one of those documents is needed to make a claim stick.

What should you do before signing the Agreement?

Four things, and they take ten minutes. Add up what it would cost to replace the shipment, not what you paid for it. Decide whether the difference between that number and 60 cents a pound is a risk you want to carry yourself. Check that the valuation rates are printed on the Agreement and that the declared value box is filled in, in your handwriting, with the figure you chose. And walk the inventory with the crew lead so that a scratch that was already there is marked before the truck leaves, because that is the piece of paper a claim is judged against. Our guide to hiring a San Diego moving company covers the rest of the paperwork, including the Not to Exceed price that caps what you can be charged.

The short version

Released value pays 60 cents a pound and costs nothing. Actual cash value pays depreciated value up to $20,000 by default and costs up to $190. Full value pays to repair or replace, and with a $500 deductible it costs about $64 on a $20,000 shipment, which makes it the best value for most San Diego households. Whatever you choose, it has to be written on the Agreement in your own hand before the first box goes on the truck.

Packman Moving LLC is a licensed household mover, permit 192591, regulated by the California Bureau of Household Goods and Services, and our valuation rates are printed on every Agreement we issue. If you want to talk through which level fits your move across San Diego County, ask us when you request your quote and we will price all three options for your shipment.

Published 28 September 2026. Rates quoted are the maximums in Maximum Rate Tariff 4, Item 136, as reissued by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services effective 1 January 2020. Confirm current figures on your Agreement before signing.

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